Robert's Rebellion
by Sansastarkofwinterfell
Summary: A multi-chapter fic of Robert's Rebellion from the perspectives of many different characters.
1. Lyanna Stark

**Hey everyone :). Basically I had an idea about writing a Robert's Rebellion fic with each chapter from a different character's perspective. I enjoyed starting to write it so I will definitely carry on. If you have any requests for a POV, feel free to leave them in the review section and I'll start writing the characters you want. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

"Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger. I am his and he is mine. From this day, until the end of my days." Rhaegar bent down to kiss her and it was done. She was now officially his wife.

Rhaegar was handsome, that was clear to everyone. His long, silver hair and purple eyes gave him a look that no other man she had ever met. Lyanna had never been one to be swept off her feet just by looking at a man; if she had, she would probably be content with marrying Robert, as only a foolish girl would deny that Robert was handsome. But Rhaegar was so much more than her original betrothed.

She felt a deeper connection to Rhaegar, one that she would never feel with Robert. Rhaegar truly understood her in a way that no one ever had, not even her brothers. He knew that she was not destined to be content as the lady of a castle, treated as a broodmare. Her life as Rhaegar's wife would not only give her a husband who respected her and didn't whore around, but would also give her a life she wanted, to be loved for who she is.

Part of her knows there will be repercussions for what they have done. Dorne won't be happy, her father certainly won't be either, and Rhaegar said his father will likely despise him even more than he does now. But she loved this man, and would happily face the whispers of the people, people who didn't truly know their story.

* * *

She wasn't even aware how long she had been crying, but it felt like hours and the tears wouldn't stop. A haze formed in front of her eyes, her vision blurred due to her crying. It had taken a few minutes for the news to settle in, she thought it couldn't be true, that her husband was playing a bad jape on her, but the look of guilt in his eye confirmed it and she dropped to the floor in agony. _Brandon…father._

She had remained on the floor since then, arms curled around herself. Rhaegar had moved to comfort her but she told him to leave her alone, wanting no comfort from anyone. _It's my fault. They're dead because of me. Aerys may have passed the sentence but I practically lit the fire, it was me who pulled on the rope._

The manner of their deaths were horrific. Lyanna tried to picture her strong, noble father screaming for help, but she couldn't picture it. And Brandon begging for his father's life didn't seem right. Brandon had always been so confident, so sure of himself. It doesn't seem right that his last moments were him crying out, begging…that wasn't the Brandon she knew.

Ned and Benjen would be in danger too. She knew that her father and brother's deaths would lead to war and a war with the Starks as rebels means her brothers would be at risk more than most other people. She suspected that Benjen would remain at home while Ned fought. Ned was older than her but he was still young, still a boy in many ways, and she knew he would be fighting.

She would pray night and day for her two brothers and would forever regret the decision she made had put them in danger. She had never meant for that to happen, and it made her guilt all the worse knowing that by the end of the war, her entire family could be dead because of her.

* * *

"You're leaving." Lyanna's words were a statement, not a question. She knew her husband was going to join the war, to defend his family. _And to fight against mine,_ Lyanna thought darkly.

"Yes. But I will return to you. To our Visenya or Aemon." He placed his hand on her belly as he spoke and Lyanna braced herself for the painful goodbye, knowing she may never see him again once he leaves this tower.

She knew Rhaegar wanted a girl, a Visenya for his Rhaenys and Aegon, but Lyanna secretly hoped for a boy.

In truth, her pregnancy had complicated things a bit. She wanted nothing more for her brother Ned to survive, for him and Benjen to live long, happy lives. She had heard that Ned's own wife was pregnant as well. She wanted her brother to know his own child. But she also knew that if Ned won, then Robert would want to kill her babe. _Does it make me a terrible person that I can't choose sides? I either lose my brothers or I lose my child._

Lyanna felt guilty over her decision to run away with Rhaegar when the news of her father and Brandon reached her and the thought of Ned fighting in a war made it far worse. She had no news of him, and she liked to believe that was good news. Her decisions had also put her unborn niece and nephew in danger, and she was ashamed at that. Ned would never put her child in danger, yet she had done that to his.

Mayhaps she was being silly, blaming herself for all of it. It was after all not only her who had run away, her husband was part of this as well. And it was Aerys who had murdered her father and Brandon. As much as she felt remorse about her decisions, she couldn't truly regret them. She wishes that her father and Brandon were still alive, but if she hadn't run away with Rhaegar, she would not have her child. Call her selfish, but her child was now her life. She was a wolf, and wolves protected their pups above anyone else.

"Where will you go?" She asked her husband, curious about where the war would take him.

"The Trident. We have gotten word that Robert and your brother are heading there. They have a large army. Baratheon, Stark, Tully and Arryn will be hard to defeat. Our plan is to try and cut the leaders from the men." Lyanna's eyes opened wide at his words, knowing what he meant they would do.

"Ned? He's the leader of my house." She grabbed Rhaegar's arm, desperately. "Please, please do not hurt him. For the love you bear me, let my brother live." She was aware she was crying, and Rhaegar took her in his arms and kissed her forehead.

"This is war, Lya, it'll likely be me or him."

He left soon after that and Lyanna cried. She longed to see him again. She loved him, she did, but the thought of Ned dying so she could see Rhaegar again made her want to vomit. Her brother was a good man and didn't deserve to die in battle. Ned should die in seventy years, surrounded by children and grandchildren, not in the middle of a bloody battle.

That night, she found herself praying for her brother's victory more than her husband's. It felt like betrayal.

* * *

It had been weeks since Lyanna had heard any news. Rhaegar had left around two moons ago and since then, she had heard nothing. She hated being stuck in this tower, but this is where Rhaegar thought she was safest, and she couldn't exactly escape if she tried. The Kingsguard were good men, but they could not understand her frustration of being here.

Thinking of the Kingsguard, all three of them entered her room. Immediately she knew something was wrong. All three of them never entered her, usually one of them would wait outside, looking for any possible dangers.

"Is there something wrong." Lyanna, asked, her voice shaking. Ser Gerold gave her a sympathetic look and Lyanna assumed the worse. "Is it my brother? Is he…" The word _dead_ would not come out. But Ser Gerold shook his head.

"Lord Stark is fine as far as we know, Princess. We are here about Prince Rhaegar."

"What? What about him?" Lyanna didn't need them to say. If Ned was alive, that surely meant that Rhaegar was dead.

"Princess, I am sorry but the Usurper struck him down on the Trident. He fought bravely, but nothing could be done." Lyanna felt the air leave her lungs. If Rhaegar was dead, Robert would surely win the war. Her mind immediately went to her child and the fate he would have. She looked back to Ser Gerold and noticed he still looked troubled.

"There's more?" She almost dreaded the answer.

"Yes, Princess. Tywin Lannister finally emerged from hiding and sacked King's Landing. Princess Elia was murdered, as were her children. And Ser Jaime Lannister killed the King." It was Ser Arthur who spoke up this time, his voice riddled with sadness as he recounted what happened to the Dornish Princess and her children.

Lyanna couldn't breathe, it was so much to take in. So many people dead in a war that could've been avoided if she and Rhaegar had done things differently.

Ser Oswell spoke this time, but Lyanna couldn't hear, she only made out that he said her child was now the rightful King. She was devastated, there were no other words.

"I swear to you, Princess. You and your child will be safe with us." Lyanna wished she could believe him, but with Rhaegar dead, she was certain she knew the fate of her child and she wept for days.

* * *

Lyanna was aware how loud she was screaming as she tried tirelessly to bring her child into the world. _They can probably hear me at Winterfell,_ she thought as she pushed, screaming for her long-dead mother, and her father. She wanted nothing more than the comfort of her parents.

 _How did my mother do this four times?_ She felt this was too hard and she looked down at the blood and thought there was too much blood to be healthy.

"Why is there so much blood?"

"Blood is normal when birthing a child, Princess. You need to keep pushing." The midwife was a woman from Dorne whom Rhaegar had brought here to look over her. She was a lovely woman, who had made this whole ordeal much easier for Lyanna, but her words were not comforting now. Lyanna felt like she was dying. But she was strong, she would bring her child into the world safely.

What seemed like a world later, she heard the high pitch squeal of a baby.

"A boy, Princess. A healthy, beautiful baby boy."

Lyanna started crying, more than she ever had before. She looked at her son as he was being cleaned up. She only got a glimpse of him, but she saw dark hair and cried even more. Her beautiful baby looked like her, like her brothers.

The midwife handed her son to her, and Lyanna had never felt love like this before. Her son was the most important person in the world, and he was absolutely perfect to her.

"Aemon. My Aemon."

She was weak, but she held on for the sake of her son, her beautiful Aemon. She loved him more than she had ever loved anyone, and he was merely hours old. She could hear the fighting outside and worried that Robert had found them, that he would kill her precious boy.

Her babe was crying, small, silent cries, but she saw the tears. _Perhaps he knows I am dying_ , she thought. She took a look at the blood surrounding her and knew she didn't have long left.

The door opened and she held her breath, worried that someone had come for Aemon, but she was shocked to see her brother at the door. It was truly Ned and he was here. Sweet, good, loving Ned. She placed her son in the arms of the one man she trusted above anyone, a man she knew would love Aemon. _Promise me, Ned._ Knowing that her son would forever be safe with his Uncle, Lyanna closed her eyes, and slipped away.


	2. Elia Martell

**Chapter 2 is from Elia's perspective as I had already written hers as well as Lyanna's. Feel free to request characters :)**

* * *

Rhaegar was knocking on the door to her chambers once more, offering apologies through it. It had been seven moons since the tourney and she loathed the man she was married to. She could count on her hands the amount of times she had spoken to him since they returned from Harrenhal. She had told him that she was expecting a second child, and then she had spoken to him when Aegon was born. Since the birth four weeks ago, whatever conversation they had could hardly be called civil, but merely necessary for the sake of her beautiful boy.

She hadn't particularly wanted to marry Rhaegar, but she did as she was bid as every other woman in the Seven Kingdoms has done. She warmed his bed and bore his children and he had repaid everything she had done for him by humiliating her and making her feel like the most unwanted woman to have ever been born.

Elia didn't hate the Stark girl, none of this was her fault, but something must have happened between the two of them for her husband to do what he did and shame his own wife. She had begun to love Rhaegar, and then he ripped her heart out in public. She remembered all the eyes on her after the Stark girl had left, how sympathetic everyone was, but couldn't voice anything lest they offend the Crown Prince.

She bit back a laugh thinking about her brother's reaction. Everyone in the Seven Kingdoms is aware of Oberyn's short temper. Oberyn had to be restrained, wanting to strangle Rhaegar for humiliating his sister. He shouted curses at him all through the night, and refused to leave Elia's side as she cried. Oberyn wasn't the only brother offended by the actions. She remembers seeing Brandon Stark jump to his feet, trying to grab Rhaegar as he placed the roses in Lyanna's lap, disgusted that a married man would look past his own wife and crown his sister, a woman who already had a betrothal in line.

"Elia, please let me in." Rhaegar had continued knocking at the door, almost like a petulant child. "Elia, I am leaving in the morning. I wish to say goodbye to Rhaenys and Aegon."

"I have just got Aegon to sleep and Rhaenys is with my brother. If you would like to say goodbye to her, then feel free to find Oberyn." Elia knew that Rhaegar would like to spend as little time with her brother as possible, well aware of her brother's poisonous bite. It would be a testament to how much he really wanted to say goodbye to his daughter.

She did not ask where he was going, at this point, she was not really interested in what he did anymore. She found it funny how quickly your opinion of a person could change in a single incident, but she was glad she saw her husband's true colours.

"Very well. Goodbye, Elia." It almost sounded like a final goodbye but she couldn't bring herself to open the door and speak to him. Hearing his footsteps walk off, Elia sobbed as she had done for months but she knew she would remain strong to the rest of the world. She would show them all she was strong and that her husband's actions had not broken her.

* * *

Elia cursed her husband for the mess he had made. Did he expect no fallout after kidnapping the Stark girl? Did he really think that her family would just sit back and allow her to be taken? In her eyes, Brandon Stark had every right to charge down to King's Landing, demanding to duel her husband. Unfortunately for him, it was her goodfather who heard his shouting.

She knew there would be a war, it was obvious. She could hear the screams from her chambers when Lord Rickard and Brandon were brutally murdered. Burned with wildfire and strangled to death, _was there a worse way to die?_ If there was, Elia could not think of it. To make matters worse, she had heard rumours that Aerys had demanded the heads of Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon. _The Mad King truly lived up to his name,_ Elia thought with a shudder.

She had great sympathy for the Stark family, she truly did. She could not imagine how she would feel if Oberyn or Doran were taken from her in such a way, but her children were Targaryens, and they meant more to her than anyone else, and therefore if war did break out, the side she would pray for was an obvious choice.

The name Rhaegar Targaryen meant less to her than it ever had before. She had asked herself a hundred times why he had done this. Yes, their marriage was now loveless, but surely there were other women he could've picked, not a woman that would tear the country in half. _Why do men never think with their heads?_

Elia had convinced Ashara to leave. Her friend had confided in her that the babe she carried was Brandon Stark's. Ashara was already the shame of the court, but she was in no danger, until the Starks had been killed. After Aerys called for Eddard's head, it was clear to Elia that this was now a vendetta against the Starks. If Aerys found out Ashara was carrying Brandon's child, he wouldn't hesitate to rip the child from her womb, killing mother and child without blinking. And so Ashara bid her a tearful goodbye, returning to Starfall and leaving Elia alone.

Rhaenys had constantly asked when 'Papa' was coming back and Elia would always make an excuse for his absence. She could hardly tell her young daughter that her father had kidnapped a girl and started a war by acting more foolish than any Targaryen ever had, so Elia simply told Rhaenys that Rhaegar was either visiting Maester Aemon on the Wall, or hunting with Ser Arthur.

Ser Arthur's absence confused Elia. With war approaching, she had assumed that the most skilled and deadly member of the Kingsguard would remain at the Red Keep to defend the King and his family, but that role had gone to Ser Jaime. Ser Arthur, Ser Gerold and Ser Oswell had not been seen for several weeks. But she supposed they were preparing to clean up her husband's mess.

Her husband had destroyed their family and for that she would never forgive him. If he returned, she would allow him one last moment with her children and then she would return to Dorne, a place where she was wanted and loved, far away from the scheming and devastation of King's Landing.

* * *

Rhaegar was dead. A part of her mourned her husband, she was not heartless. And no matter what he had done to her, she had loved him once, and she felt pain over his death. But she mourned for her children more than anything. Her babes would not know their father. At just three years old, Rhaenys would not remember him, and Aegon certainly wouldn't.

More worrying for Elia was that with Rhaegar's death, it was a near certainty that the rebels would win the war. With every day that passed, they would move closer to King's Landing and Elia doubted that her children would be shown mercy.

She pleaded with the King to allow her and her children to leave the Red Keep and return to Dorne where she would be safe, but he was too far gone in his madness that he struck her, shouting that she would remain here and that they would share the same fate. She knew she and her children were now hostages, secured within the Red Keep to assure that Doran would fight for the royalists and not join the rebel cause.

Elia wished she had someone here. There was Ser Jaime, but his time was often spent next to Aerys, also a hostage against his father. She liked Ser Jaime, he had very little of his father's ruthlessness. He was essentially a boy still, and wanted to do what was right. Rhaenys adored him, and in turn, he smiled when she approached him, but even the constant company of Ser Jaime would not be enough.

She wanted her friend here. Ashara was safe at Starfall but the selfish part of her wished her friend would put herself in danger and return here so she would not feel so alone. She didn't truly wish it, she wanted her friend safe, but she longed to laugh and joke with her. And Ashara would need laughter herself after losing her babe, but Elia knew she would not come.

Most of all she prayed for the day that Oberyn would knock on her door and take her and the children back to Sunspear. She missed her brother more than anyone and would do anything to see his face right now. But despite all her praying, he never came and any letter he wrote she suspected was destroyed before it reached her.

Instead, she spent most of her time curled up sobbing on her bed, Aegon in her arms and Rhaenys clutching her side. Her darling girl had taken the loss of her father badly, crying for him for hours. Balerion the cat could not even cheer her daughter up and so Elia sat and prayed that her children would not suffer any more heartache, that they would be safe, but knowing how close Robert Baratheon was, she suspected they would soon be in danger, and the thought turned her stomach.

 _Please,_ she prayed. _If I die, so be it. But let my children remain safe._

* * *

Aerys should have known better than to believe Tywin Lannister was here to save them. A man who sat out the entire war would not arrive at the gates of King's Landing to save the losing side. She had looked out her window and as soon as she saw the golden Lannister lion, she started barricading the door.

The city fell in hours, and Elia heard the screaming from outside. Fires rose from houses and it made her sick to imagine what the men, women and children were going through down there.

She remained in her room the entire time, confident that the Red Keep would hold for a while longer. Both her babes had been crying since the screams from outside had started, and she did not know how to soothe them. She simply closed the window and told them a story, trying to calm them down.

"Mama, why you cry? Bad men come for us?" Her daughter was so innocent that she couldn't bear to tell her the truth. She was so young, she did not deserve to hear what may happen.

"Of course not, my love. Ser Jaime will protect you, remember how much he loves you." Rhaenys smiled at that, and Elia continued, wanting to see the precious smile as much as she could. "And do you really think Uncle Oberyn would ever allow anyone to hurt us?" Rhaenys shook her head, and Elia held her tightly and she remained with her daughter in her arms for hours.

Eventually, Elia knew that the Lannisters had made it to the Red Keep. The guards would put up a fight, but against the might of the Westerlands, she knew it was over, there was no hope. Her hope that even Ser Jaime would help them was now over, it was his father who had sacked the city and she doubted he would turn against him.

Then she heard it. The unmistakable sound of soldiers approaching her door. Rhaenys and Aegon screamed in terror as they tried to break down the door, and Elia grabbed a knife from the side, standing protectively in front of them, hoping that at least some of the things Oberyn had taught her would be useful now. She would fight anyone to protect the two people behind her, and she would fight until she was dead.

"Hide, my sweet. Under the bed." Rhaenys followed her instruction and dove under the bed, Balerion in her arms and tears on her face.

When the men burst through the door, Elia's knife was promptly hit to the ground by the tallest man she had ever seen. She immediately knew this was Ser Gregor Clegane, The Mountain, whom her husband had knighted not that long ago. She would've laughed at the irony of that had her children's lives not been in danger.

She tried to fight the Mountain off with all her might but it wasn't enough, the man was far too strong for her. The other man, she didn't know his name, saw her daughter under the bed. She struggled to reach Rhaenys, but was promptly held back by Clegane. The man dragged her precious girl from under the bed and stabbed her so many times.

Elia screamed louder than she ever had done before, a shell of the strong woman, now broken. Her baby girl's happy eyes were now glossed over and lifeless and she was lying in a pool of blood. Elia managed to break free of the Mountain's arms but was promptly held back by the other man and watched in further horror as the Mountain picked her screaming baby boy up and smashed his head against the wall.

A soundless scream escaped Elia as she dropped to the ground in devastation, all the fight from her gone. Aegon's brains were now splattered on the Mountain and the look in his eyes as he turned to her no longer scared her. Her babies were dead, brutally murdered by monsters.

She didn't resist as the man pinned her down to allow the Mountain to force himself on her and the pain she felt at his actions were nothing compared to the pain of watching her babies die. Tears streamed her face and she pictured them happy, smiling, the way things should be. And when the Mountain had finished and grabbed his greatsword, she felt nothing but relief as he brought it down upon her, her only thought being she would see her children again.


End file.
